Daimler CEO bullish on truck orders

NicoSchmidt

WOERTH, Germany -(MarketWatch)- Daimler AG (DAI.XE) Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said the German auto maker's truck unit has "a good level of orders" for the first quarter 2012 and said the business aims to grow "much faster" than the overall market, driven by the launch of its new-generation Actros model.

"We have good reason to be optimistic: Our plants will be working at full capacity until the end of the year," Zetsche said at the launch event for the new Actros heavy-truck in Woerth, Germany, according to a prepared statement.

"Initial orders for the Actros have been encouraging," he said, adding that "with this truck we are also taking further advantage of our global economies of scale."

Daimler's truck unit is the world's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles by revenue and has contributed to the firm's strong earnings rebound in recent quarters, driven by growing sales in its core Mercedes-Benz luxury car brand.

Daimler sold 259,618 trucks in the January-to-August period this year, up 18% compared with the same period last year. The division targets annual vehicle sales growth of 14% between 2010 and 2013, according to previous statements.

Annual sales volume is expected to exceed 500,000 trucks in 2013 after 355,000 vehicles last year, and Daimler aims to sell 700,000 trucks per year by the end of this decade.

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